Tone is in the Fear of the Beholder: Reading and Writing Using Multimodal Mentor Texts

This resource is a demonstration lesson presented at the 2014 Write for Texas Summer Institute. It provides a snapshot of a four to five week unit that engages students in the reading and writing workshop model. Students are challenged to re-conceptualize “fear.” Students read and analyze a variety of multimodal texts that serve as scaffolds for vocabulary development, sentence writing, and the writing process. Students analyze texts and participate in various forms of assessments. As a culmination to the unit, students write a “fear” story in the form of a personal narrative.

The "The Raven excerpt and I-chart" handout in the "Documents" section below is used in the Mentor Text: "The Raven" activity. There are two related articles in the "Documents" section that provide additional information about purposeful reading and writing activities.

Click play on the video when you are ready to begin.

Now jot down your response to the sentence below.

While working with English learners, we tend to___________________, but I believe we should do more___________ because _____________eventually __________________.

When you are finished, click play on the video below.

Mentor Text: "The Raven"

Locate the Excerpt from "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe (and I-chart) handout below. When you are ready, click play on the video below. (Note: The chart is referred to in text as an I-chart (Inquiry Chart). The chart is referred to as a We-Chart in the lesson to signify the collaborative process that takes place in the classroom.)

Follow along on your copy of the excerpt from "The Raven." Click play on the video when you are ready to begin.

Complete the I-chart for "The Raven." When you are finished, click play on the video below.

Mentor Text: La Llorona

When you are ready to watch "No Longer a Myth" (La Llorona), click the link below. Please watch the video twice.

Activity—Jot down your response to the question of, “Who is La Llorona?”

When you are finished, click play on the video below.

Your Turn: Write and Think

Now it’s your turn. Write a story about fear. When you are finished, click play on the video below.

Now, jot down your thoughts about the following questions:

• How do you plan to use multi-modal mentor texts in your classroom?
• Can you think of two or more related texts that you could begin to use in the classroom?
• How does the demo lesson relate to activities you are already doing in the classroom? What can you adapt or add to your instructional repertoire?